Presidents Day: Fascinating Facts About 10 Past Presidents

For many, Presidents Day is simply a three-day-weekend. For others it is another day at the office. Presidents Day was first known as “Washington’s Birthday” and was established in 1885 in recognition of George Washington’s birthday. After the 1971 Uniform Monday Holiday Act, the day became commonly known as Presidents day. (source)

Join us today in learning a few facts about some of our former presidents:

George Washington (1st President 1789-1797)

George Washington’s estate was worth about $780,000 when he died which was about 0.19% of the nation’s GDP at that time. In 2014, his estate would have been worth about $34 billion in today’s dollars. (source)

John Adams (2nd President 1797-1801)

As a child, Adams would often skip school to spend his time hunting and fishing. (source)

James Madison (4th President 1809-1817)

Madison finished his undergraduate degree in 2 years and then chose to stay at Princeton for an additional year. This made him Princeton’s first graduate student. (source)

Zachary Taylor (12th President 1849-1850)

Taylor was given the nickname “Old Rough and Ready” by soldier who fought with him in the Seminole War. (source)

Woodrow Wilson (28th President 1913-1921)

Wilson is the only president to date to hold a Ph.D. He was awarded the degree in Political Science and History from Johns Hopkins University. Additionally, he didn’t finish law school, but did pass the Georgia Bar Exam. (source)

Theodore Roosevelt (26th President 1901-1909)

In 1906, Roosevelt was the first president to travel on official business outside of the United States. (source)

James Garfield (20th President 1881-1881)

After being shot by an office-seeking fanatic, a metal detecting device invented by Alexander Graham Bell was used in an attempt to find the bullet. The metal bed springs preventing the device from working and Garfield did not survive. (source)

Chester Arthur (21st President 1881-1885)

Arthur was known for being sharply dressed and reportedly owned 80 pairs of pants. (source)

Herbert Hoover (31st President 1929-1933)

The Great Depression hit 7 months after Hoover took office. He vetoed many bills which would have given direct relief to Americans saying, “Prosperity cannot be restored by raids upon the public Treasury.” (source)